Walking Through Jewish New York – Our Next Dor Teen Trip
We ate and walked our way across New York City on this year’s Next Dor teen trip, and every step, and every bite, was worth it. Our goal was to
The Temple Shalom Endowment, Part 1: Everything You Need to Know
The Temple Shalom Endowment is powerful because it creates a predictable revenue stream, reducing reliance on uncertain year-to-year fundraising, and giving you, our donors, confidence that Temple Shalom will be able to sustain its mission over time. A strong endowment can help us weather economic downturns, take advantage of new opportunities, and plan strategically for the future.
A Life-Changing Adult Education Trip
“If you are not doing anything about wrongful convictions or mass incarceration, you probably would not have done anything about slavery or lynchings.” These words, from Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson, greeted me when I entered an exhibit hall in the EJI Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. I’ve thought about them since. After all, what have I done about these persistent injustices?
Temple Shalom Arts Forum – The Perfect Dinner Party
You know the classic dinner party question? If you could have anyone over for dinner, living or dead, who would you invite?
The Buzz about Temple Shalom’s Beehives
In the Torah, bees are viewed as a symbol of God’s blessings, representing a “land flowing with milk and honey,” and as a metaphor for the sweetness of Torah and the promise of a good year.
Eight Nights, Not One
Every year around Chanukah, I rediscover something both beautiful and mildly stressful: this holiday lasts a full eight nights.
Not one night where we light the candles and eat a few too many latkes. Not one big event to check off.
Eight. Nights.
The Temple Shalom Endowment, Part 2: Building a Legacy Together: Investing in the next 60 Years with Endowment
When a small group of individuals and families gathered in 1965 to create Temple Shalom, they were guided by a simple but powerful belief…
Today I Am a Fountain Pen!? Or: What Is This Bar/Bat Mitzvah Really All About?
The Bar Mitzvah, as we know it today, began in the Middle Ages as a way of recognizing the maturity of thirteen-year-old boys and their growing responsibility to their families and communities.
Finding Her Voice: An Interview with Temple’s own Mandy Monreal
For many at Temple Shalom, the name Mandy Monreal is synonymous with music that moves the soul. Whether she’s leading the choir, guiding a youth rehearsal, or performing a new original composition, Mandy’s warmth and passion shine through every note. Yet few know the remarkable journey that led her here-a journey that intertwines art, faith, and purpose in ways both unexpected and deeply inspiring. Temple member Diane Laner sat down with Mandy (on Zoom, of course) to find out more.
Kol Nidre 5786 The Door We Closed
I love a good gadget. Always have.
When I was thirteen, I spent my Bar Mitzvah money on an Intellivision game console. I loved it. Later came the Palm Pilot—remember those? My brother had a bag phone — you…know…doctors! Then came the iPod, and in 1994, after a particularly bad blizzard in New Jersey, I was allowed to buy a Motorola flip phone—the kind where you had to pull out the antenna by hand.